The execution of Otto Hightower was a well-attended event.

Taking place in the same square his plot against your husband had occurred, the townsfolk of King's Landing as well as those from court made sure to be present for the downfall of such a high-standing man.

The Queen was noticeably absent, but that was to be expected given it was her father being put to death.

Following your salacious revelations to the King, Viserys had placed his wife under house arrest since he could not discern her involvement in the scheme against his family.

And because she was pregnant with their third child, it made sense to wait for it to be born before deciding what to do with the mother.

You did not know the Queen's thoughts on the proceedings regarding the Hand, but you supposed she could take comfort in the fact that he had at least died with dignity.

Though your husband confessed he would have liked to have heard your enemy plead for his life at least once, no such begging took place before the axe came down and Otto's head was removed from its body.

If you were being honest, you had to admit the whole event had been a bit anti-climatic which proved that even in death, Lord Hightower was boring.

But soon, just as your husband predicted, he and his demise became yesterday's news.

By the time the moon had gone through all of its phases twice, the Red Keep was filled with a different kind of gossip.

Following the birth of his second daughter, Helaena, the King announced his marriage to Alicent Hightower was officially annulled.

Since Otto had tried to make Aegon successor to the throne, Viserys was finally made to realize the only way this would not happen was if the child was no longer in the line of succession.

In order to do that, the King had to make the difficult decision to disinherit the children he had with his second wife.

Declaring them to be solely Hightowers, he allowed the children to be heirs to Alicent's ancestral home rather than his or the Kingdom.

You supposed that was for the best since it gave the now former Queen the freedom to live out the rest of her life as a respectable noblewoman with legitimate children rather than as spoiled goods with bastards.

It was a kind offer and one that allowed for the most amount of possible happiness with the least amount of bloodshed.

In recognizing this, Alicent put up no fight as she departed the Red Keep with her kids in tow.

Now that the line of succession was firmly secured, you could feel every person who had been watching the brewing storm breathe a sigh of relief as it passed without conflict.

There was no longer a need to worry about an impending civil war now that the King's younger children no longer had a claim to the throne.

While this was merely a consequence of you and your husband's bid to avenge one another, that did not stop Rhaenyra from expressing her gratitude to you both for ensuring her ascension to the throne.

Having become good companions since your arrival to the castle, you considered the Princess a friend prior to your confrontation with the Hand. That bond only strengthened after the fact, and now, your relationship was closer to that of sisters rather than that of Aunt and niece.

That said, you suppose you could admit that you had become somewhat protective of the girl since she had all but latched onto you.

After realizing that your friendship had eased her loneliness, the heir to the Iron Throne had sought you out more times than you could count.

And because you enjoyed her company so, you never minded when she did.

Lately, you both had been occupied with you honoring your word to train her in using a sword.

For now, you were using weapons made of wood. But at the rate your pupil was progressing, you knew it would not be long before she would be ready to use the real thing.

Taking in her prepared stance as she stood across from you on the training grounds with her wooden blade up, you noted with pride that she looked just as fierce as any dragon.

This was a queen you could follow.

Giving her a slight nod, you watched as she took your signal to continue sparring by lunging at you with a swing.

You allowed her to continue attacking you while you assessed her footwork. You were happy to note it had improved greatly since you had been teaching her as you kept to your defenses.

Letting her get a few more swings in, you decided to disarm her after you noticed a flaw in her attack.

When her sword hit the ground, the Princess looked to you stunned as you said,

"Remember to always keep your guard up. Your opponent will try to engage when you least expect it."

Picking up her sword by the hilt and holding it out to her, you finished your advice by saying,

"So make sure you are always expecting it."

Nodding to show she understood, she watched as a proud smirk grew on your lips before you said,

"Good job today, Rhaenyra. You will make a fine knight in no time."

Her smile was bright as she thanked you for the compliment and the training session.

Waving away her thanks to both, you each put away your wooden swords before making your way inside.

You had just finished discussing how she could further improve her technique when it came time to part ways and go to your individual chambers.

You requested a bath be drawn upon entering your room and took off the pieces of your training gear as you waited for it to fill.

After the maids told you the bath was ready, you soon let out a sigh as you reclined back into the steaming water and leaned your head against the edge of the tub.

You had been relaxing in the heat for a while before the sound of the Prince's voice alerted you to his presence.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Slowly opening your closed eyes in order to see his roving over your hidden body, you allowed a small smirk to grace your lips as you replied to the man leaning against the doorframe,

"Immensely, Husband."

Taking a few measured steps into the room, Daemon was disappointed to find whatever soaps and oils you were using had made the water completely opaque, but that did not stop him from asking with a humored note to his voice,

"Can this unworthy husband be of any assistance to his good Lady wife?"

Smiling at the phrasing of his question, you declined with a shake of your head before saying,

"Your company is more than enough."

Nodding his head at your answer, the Prince was happy to take a seat near you as you bathed.

He had been giving an account of his day thus far when he saw you give a small wince as you adjusted yourself in the tub.

Pausing in his story, Daemon sounded concerned when he asked,

"Are you alright, my Love?"

You nodded as you immediately realized what the true cause of your discomfort was. Recognizing this was a great opportunity to impart the news you had been holding onto for a few days, you were purposefully vague as you responded,

"Yes, I am perfectly well. I just have to inform Rhaenyra that we will have to pause our training sessions for awhile."

That seemed to be a perfectly acceptable answer to him as he raised your hand to his lips. Placing a kiss on the back of it, he distractedly inquired,

"How long is 'awhile'?"

After contentedly watching him reverently place kisses on each of your fingers, you trained your eyes to his face as you answered with a coy smile,

"About nine months."

His reaction was delayed as he processed the unusual timeframe. But once it hit, he stopped and slowly returned his gaze to yours.

It was silent as he held eye contact with you for a moment before saying with a touch of disbelief,

"You are carrying my child?"

You bit your lip to contain your excited smile as you nodded at his question.

Daemon's following grin was grand as he began to move.

You understood where he was going when he lifted one foot over the rim of the tub after the other.

Laughing heartily as he climbed fully clothed into the bath with you, you had trouble giggling out,

"Daemon, what are you doing?"

Unconcerned about the water seeping into his clothes, your husband grinned back at you as he said while kneeling in the tub,

"I am showing my wife my gratitude for such a wonderful gift."

And leaned in to passionately press his lips to yours.

As you returned his enthusiastic kiss, you remember thinking that no moment of happiness had ever come close to this one.